


Right Up Her Alley

by Nathan_Thorn



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27202043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nathan_Thorn/pseuds/Nathan_Thorn
Summary: Neo and Ilia go on a date after being friends for a while. Fluff and bowling ensues.
Relationships: Ilia Amitola/Neopolitan
Kudos: 7





	Right Up Her Alley

**Author's Note:**

> This does get slightly lewd near the end but nothing explicit, this is your warning. Other than that beware of too much fluff.

Neo was in love. It’d been months since the battle in Menagerie and she and Ilia had moved in together. It had been rough patching things up with her, but even with her identity as a human revealed Ilia had given her another chance… this time she made things right, even if she couldn’t speak to her. 

It had taken time after everything Ilia had gone through, Adam’s betrayal and the splintering of the Fang had put her under far more stress than she’d ever dealt with. Neo had been there for her through it all, even after the fighting was over. She had sunk into a depression, not knowing what to do with herself, but Ghira and Kali took care of making sure she was fed and Neo made sure she wasn’t alone. 

Now, after a few months, with Menagerie rebuilt, Ilia was ready to get back on her feet. Neo had helped the Belladonna’s rebuild their home after a certain someone’s fighting caused an accidental arson to be commited, but everything was back to normal now. Well, as normal as things could be without the White Fang.

Now, Ilia was going on a date with Neo. A bowling alley had actually opened up nearby, and neither of them had ever had the chance, so they decided to go. Ilia thought it would be fun for the pair of them and Neo agreed, wanting to make her girlfriend happy.

Now, they were on the way to the bowling alley, having Ilia drive with Neo riding shotgun. There was one small problem with this. Neo couldn’t talk. Ilia had to watch the road, so sign language was out of the question, and her vocal cords didn’t exactly function. Eventually Ilia realized Neo was uncomfortable, not being able to communicate.

“Neo? Do you wanna say something? Try using the text to speech on your scroll, type something out and I’ll be able to hear it.” She glanced over to find Neo disguised as her, smiling as she typed something out. “Hey, why do you look like me? You know you’re cute enough without a disguise, right?”

“Yeah, but I wanted to look like the cutest girl in the world.”

Ilia blushed and stared ahead at the road, her scales bright pink. “So… bowling, huh?” 

“I’ve never had a chance to try it. So I figured it might be nice to try some new things with you.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet, Neo. I’ve never actually tried it either. So it’s the first time for both of us.”

“I’m sure everything will be fine. If nothing else we’ve got the new hot tub back home to relax in even if we have a bad time.”

“Yeah, I can’t wait. But I also want to try something like this with you. Something normal. No more having to fight off Grimm or White Fang remnants. Just… us.”

“That sounds… really nice. Oh good, we’re here.” Neo was out of the car and flipped over it before Ilia could even pull out the keys, sticking the landing and opening her door for her. 

Ilia took her proffered hand, Neo helping her out of the car with ease. She was still amazed at how strong Neo was despite her size. “Thank you, Neo.” Neo tipped her hat in response, before leading the way inside. 

The bowling alley wasn’t large, but it had 8 lanes and a decent bar. They also served plenty of food, and Ilia stepped up to get them some food and drinks. Neo, meanwhile, began looking for someone who could teach them how to bowl. After a few tries she found a staff member that understood sign language, and she asked if he could teach them how to bowl. He agreed happily, saying it was nice to see new faces in the bowling alley.

Ilia came back to find them talking, and handed Neo her drink, a Shirley Temple. Ilia herself had some local mix called a chameleon cocktail, as she figured it wouldn’t hurt to have just a bit of alcohol. She paid attention as the staff member explained the rules and different techniques of the game, like how to throw the ball and how to keep score. 

Eventually they had the rules down and settled in at one of the lanes. Their food came, some chicken strips, popcorn shrimp, and a few other goodies. Neo dug right into the popcorn shrimp, downing a pile of the stuff while Ilia instead went after a burger, cooked to adequate standards (nothing ever really compared to Kali’s cooking), and downed it within a few bites. They both went to scold each other for not tasting the food before realizing they both finished at the same time, laughing (well, Neo was more going through the motions but Ilia knew what she meant) at the absurdity of it all.

The attendant provided them with a pair of bowling balls each, one larger one and a smaller one. The larger one, it had been explained, was for the first throw, knocking down tons of pins, and the small ball was for cleaning up pins, as it was much easier to control. 

They started off poorly, both of them ending up in the gutter on their first throws. The second throw, they both ended up taking out a few pins, and from there things kicked into gear. By the fourth frame they were picking up spares and by the seventh frame Neo had gotten a strike. They’d chowed through their food pretty quickly between frames, and suddenly they were almost done with the game. 

Neo was up to throw her final ball of the game, the third ball of frame 10 after getting a spare on the second ball. As she retrieved her ball for the last throw, it slipped out of her hands, slick with sweat and oil from the lane, and landed right on her foot. Ilia watched it happen, jumping out of her chair, but she was too slow to do anything. 

As it hit, Neo’s aura flared up, absorbing the hit but visibly cracking. The ball rolled off her foot, hitting the floor as Neo clutched at her foot in pain. Ilia rushed over to her, helping her into a chair as an attendant grabbed the runaway ball and a first aid kit. “Here, let me see it. You’re lucky your aura was up. If it wasn’t your foot would be shattered.” Ilia scolded her a bit, but was relieved Neo was ok. 

Neo finally regained her composure enough to sign that she knew and that she was fine. The attendant took a look at it, but it was easy to see she wasn’t hurt. Ilia wrapped her in a big hug. “Be more careful next time, please. I’ve been to the hospital more than enough recently. I don’t want to go back.”

Neo nodded, knowing exactly why she didn’t want to go back. “Do you want to finish the game?” She asked.

“I might be low on aura but I’ve got enough in me for one more throw.” Neo signed back.

“Alright… we’ll finish this game, then we’re gonna finish our food and relax for a bit, ok?”

“Sounds good, Ilia.”

Ilia stood dumbfounded for a moment as Neo retrieved her ball from the rack and carefully wiped it off, getting a proper grip on it and rolling it down the lane. It kept dead center, knocking down all ten pins for a strike on her final roll of the night. 

“Woo! Nice job Neo!” Ilia cheered, drawing a few stares from the scattered guests, but she didn’t care. She hugged Neo as she walked back before throwing her last frame of the night. She got 9 pins down on the first throw, picked up the spare with a second throw, and got another 7 with her last throw. 

“Alright… and that brings the totals to… Neo with a 137 and Ilia with 133. Neo, you won!” Ilia cheered and hugged her again. Neo hugged her back weakly, still running low on aura. “Come on, let's sit down for a bit and relax. I saw a jukebox back up near the bar, let's go see how much it is.”

”Yeah, let’s just chill for a bit… and maybe get another burger, I want to try one after you scarfed down your last one.” She signed. Ilia headed over to the jukebox and put in a couple of lien, enough for 3 songs, and picked them off the list. Then she swung back by the bar to get her and Neo another pair of drinks, before settling in next to Neo in their booth. 

They both stared into each other’s eyes, Ilia loving the colors of her eyes, how they shimmered and changed whenever she blinked… suddenly their song had started, some romantic instrumental piece. It helped Neo be more comfortable since there weren’t any lyrics, so she wasn’t expected to sing along. 

Then a song Ilia preferred came on, a punk rock song that had been popular a few years ago. She found herself mumbling along to the lyrics, annoying Neo, who wanted to hear her girlfriend sing. She signed “sing louder” to her, and Ilia raised her voice a bit, enough for Neo to hear, but not enough to get the attention of the whole place. At the end of the song, Neo clapped quietly, letting Ilia know she liked it. 

Their final song came on, some old country hit from a few years back. It was about a country boy and his grandpa reminiscing about his life being documented in black and white, and lamenting the lack of color. Ilia actually began to sing for Neo from the start, emphasizing some of the lines by changing colors. When she was done Neo was clapping and so were a few of the other patrons, having seen the show she’d put on. Neo leaned across and kissed her before signing to the bartender they wanted their burgers to go. 

Ilia was stunned by the attention and dumbfounded by the sudden kiss Neo had given her, her pink scales visible as Neo collected their orders from the bartender. She came back and snapped her fingers in front of Ilia’s face, bringing her back to reality and helping her up. Neo took her out to the car, and took the wheel, as Ilia was a bit tipsy from the two drinks she’d had.

“Thanks Neo… you know, I love you… I should’ve told you before but you’re always there for me and you’ve never left me alone when I needed you… you make me feel so happy when you’re around and I… I love you so much…”

Neo couldn’t talk, of course, and since she was driving she couldn’t use her scroll either, but a few tears ran down her face. After they pulled into their driveway, Neo put the car in park, leaned over, and kissed Ilia hard. Ilia lit up, scales pink and purple as Neo kissed her. 

“I love you too,” Neo signed, before getting out, and slowly walking around to Ilia’s door. “Normally I’d do the whole flip routine but… I’m still a bit low on aura after what happened… sorry…” Ilia stopped her from signing any more by kissing her again, before closing the door and sweeping her off her feet. She then carried her in bridal style, Neo’s arms around her. “I’ll get the hot tub open and ready, hun. Ilia said. “Are you alright to get your swimsuit on or do you want me to help you in case your foot is bothering you too much?”

“I’ll handle it fine. You just get it popped open and ready. And turn on the bubble jets, those will help us both relax. And I love you.” She signed, before disappearing into the house to change. Ilia opened up the covering on the hot tub, the steam and hot air feeling amazing to her. She turned on the bubble jets and headed inside, grabbing her swimsuit from her room. It was a two piece, not overly revealing but not exactly modest either. 

By the time she got back out, Neo was already in the tub, sunk into one of the “seats” in it with bubble jets massaging her back and legs. The bubbles hid what was beneath the surface, but Ilia jumped right in, sliding into the seat next to Neo. Their shoulders were touching, their seats pointed in different directions. Ilia looked over her shoulder at Neo, smiling softly at the smaller girl. 

Suddenly, she noticed something. Neo didn’t have straps over her shoulders, like she normally did with her swimsuit. “Neo? You get a new swimsuit or something?” Ilia asked, relaxing into the water jets. Neo shook her head. “Oh…” she said, not questioning further. 

Neo waded over to her, nestling in next to her, half on the seat and half floating off the seat. Neo snaked her arm around her. “I love you.” She signeg, pecking Ilia on the cheek. Ilia’s scales turned bright pink again, but slowly faded. Then she reached around and hugged Neo, cuddling with her on the seat. As Neo came out of the water, she realized why she hadn’t seen any straps of Neo’s swimsuit. Neo thought she was wearing illusions, but with the low aura… “Neo… you know I can see you’re… uhh…”

Neo looked down and jumped a bit, recoiling into the water as she realized she was naked to Ilia as well. “I mean… I wasn’t expecting to see that tonight, but… I liked what I saw~” she said, teasing Neo, who had sunk into the other end of the water. “Do you want to go inside and cool off?”

Neo nodded. “Alright. I’ll look away, you go get out and inside.” Ilia closed her eyes and looked away as Neo got out of the tub. She heard the door shut, and looked over to see Neo there, teasing her quickly before dashing inside. “Heh… I really am in love.”


End file.
